Before I got married, my middle name was Anne. With an “e.” Just like Anne of Green Gables. Now my middle name is my maiden name, but that’s besides the point.
I must have read Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery when I was a little girl, but all I remember is watching the movie. So I decided to get through a bunch of the Anne books, obviously starting with the first: Anne of Green Gables.
And look at my beautiful old copy!!!
Anyone who knows anything about Anne knows that she feels like a plain child with red hair which she despises, and that she never stops talking.
I love Anne. She reminds me of Ramona (you know, Ramona Quimby??) because Anne is always getting into accidental trouble. For instance, when she hosts her first ever tea, she ends up accidentally getting her friend Diana completely wasted (no seriously, it was an accident!).
Anne of Green Gables is a fun book that gives you Pollyanna thoughts (about always being happy and seeing the bright side of things). If it’s one you haven’t picked up lately or ever, it’s worth doing so.
And you know what else it reminded me of? That amazing show Avonlea! Anyone remember Avonlea???
Are you an Anne with an “e” fan?
Interested in getting your own copy? Check it out on Amazon
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Hi Rebecca,
I think I will dig this book out and begin reading it this weekend! Seems like a good book for the campsite! It’s possible that I have only seen the TV show. And, yes I know Ramona, I read those books with my daughers years ago 🙂 Have a great weekend, Nancy
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It would be a perfect campsite book. Light and fluffy and fun, but still a nice classic to read and enjoy.
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My daughter is Anne with an E- when she was little everyone called her Annie. I have Anne of Green Gables of my to read list
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I actually purchased a collection of the Anne books inexpensively on my Kindle. But I do think the majority of them are free if you have an e-reader.
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Great comparison to Ramona Quimby. I can totally get onboard with that. I read this book when I was a little older, and after I’d watched the heck out of the Megan Follows movies. I enjoyed it, but it lost some of the magic it would’ve had if I’d read it far earlier. I do need to try the other books for something new.
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I don’t know if I would have made the Ramona comparison when I was little; it might have been an observation I gained through getting older. But being able to compare Anne’s mishaps to Ramona and her constant happiness to Pollyanna actually made me connect a lot more to the book as an adult and think of how innocent and well-meaning that kids can be.
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Ahhh! Avonlea was on back when Disney was a subscription channel and I used to try to sneak to my friends’ houses to watch it… Or catch up during one of the preview weekends. I love Anne.. with an E! And Ramona!
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I know!!!!! We had the Disney subscription channel off and on when I was little and Avonlea was a favorite!!!!
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I love love love Anne. I think as a young girl I really associated with her strongly. I always felt out of place in my body and very prone to accidents. It wasn’t until I started writing and got into my late 20s that I began to feel at home in myself. I will always love Anne because she was one of my first heroes!
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Aw I love that! She just helps remind everyone who reads about her that children start out so innocent and well-meaning.
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I’m not surprised that it reminded you of Avonlea, since the show was adapted from other books written by Montgomery.
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That’s what I had heard! Allison and I chatted about it recently. I guess I had no idea that Montgomery has written sooooo many books!
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My little sister’s middle name is Ann. I was so mad at my parents for not adding an “e” on the end. Anne of Green Gables will always be dear to me! I loved the book as a child, and I loved the movie. Gilbert was my first literature crush!
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He really is a great literary crush, isn’t he? And the movie was awesome too. Anything Anne of Green Gables-ish is pretty good!
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As you know I am completely in love with Anne of Green Gables, and I frequently recommend it to others. It is such a good book for so many reasons. For instance, there is a wealth of knowledge to be gleaned from the characters and their relationships, especially Anne’s relationship between her adoptive parents and her best friend Diana.
I never thought about the Anne/Ramona connection before. Great comparison, Rebecca! Also, I don’t think I ever saw the show Avonlea. I might have to look into locating some of those episodes and see what I think.
If this was one of our book club selection discussions, I would cite one of my favorite quotes from it. But since it isn’t, I will leave other future readers of this book to discover those quotes on their own from the many possibilities in this book. 🙂
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I actually love Anne’s relationship with her adoptive parents. It’s like her adoptive mother doesn’t want to love her but she just can’t resist!
What made me think of Ramona was the scene where Ramona cracked what she thought was a hard boiled egg on her head, but it wasn’t. That reminded me of when Anne got Diana drunk accidentally, by giving her what Anne thought was cherry cordial!
And go ahead, give us a favorite quote! 🙂
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All Annes I know down here write it without the ‘e’ – Ann. 🙂
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Most Ann’s (or Anne’s) do have it without the E, but not Anne of Green Gables and not my former middle name! 🙂
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I haven’t read the Anne series but thought about putting it on my next Classics Club list for young adult/kids fiction 🙂
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Good idea!
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I can’t believe I have read another review of this book in one of the Spanish bookblogs I follow, and I can’t believe I have never read Anne of the green Gables! I must do it soon!
I don’t know Ramona nor Avonlea.
And I’m very curious about the maiden name thing. So does that name suddenly disappear when you get married or is it changed for another, or what? 🙂
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I chose to change it. When you get married, you can do whatever with your name. I decided to get rid of my middle name and make my maiden name my middle name. So my name is first maiden last. 🙂
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I was confused when I first read your post too, Rebecca. After I thought about it awhile I realized what you meant. I did the same thing when I got married, but I explain it differently than you do. I just say I use my maiden name as my middle name now. My middle name isn’t technically gone. I just don’t use it anymore. My birth certificate still shows my original name including my middle name, but I chose to use first maiden last (married) instead of first middle last (married) as my legal name after I got married.
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My birth certificate says first, middle, last. But my driver’s license, SS card, credit cards, etc, all are Rebecca maiden last. I had my name legally changed that way. So it’s the same as you! 🙂
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Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books! L. M. Montgomery was my favorite author until replaced by J.R.R. Tolkien when I was in sixth grade, but she’s still second! We even had a Montgomery event on the blog a few months ago.
I’m re-reading Pat of Silver Bush right now. I know Pat’s not a favorite for many readers, but I have a soft spot for her and for her friend Jingle.
I didn’t watch the Avonlea series young enough, I like. I have the first season or so on DVD and watched and reviewed a few episode for the Montgomery event, and I had a difficult time getting past what I saw as poor, cheesy acting. I’m having a little more success watching the Emily of New Moon miniseries.
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I actually plan to continue reading the Anne books, and then maybe I’ll pick up more by L. M., but not sure exactly.
Aw, Avonlea stinks as an adult? Boo. I will keep my fond memories of it then as a kid and forget about it as an adult!
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My middle name is Ann…without the E. I remember thinking I’d be SO much cooler if I had the E at the end! Sigh 😉
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You could change it if you want to. . . .
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I loved Anne of Green Gables as a kid! I don’t think I quite got that Diana was drunk, though, because I was like 11 when I read it. I bet these are a lot of fun to re-read as an adult!
I always thought your maiden name doesn’t change; it’s just your surname from before you got married, but when you change your name it can also become your middle name?
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You’ll totally get the “Diana got drunk thing” now as an adult! 🙂 As an 11 year old, you probably thought Anne just gave her something to make her sick.
You can change your name to whatever you want when you get married. Instead of keeping Anne as my middle name, I preferred to keep my maiden name. So I delete Anne, added my maiden name as my middle and then my new last name. So I’m Rebecca maiden name last name. But you can do whatever you want! Just don’t go all Phoebe from us and name yourself Princess Bananahammock (Remember that Friends???)
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I LOVED the miniseries when I was little and recently picked up the boxed set (whatever you do, do NOT watch the war episode that happens after the fact!). I did watch Avonlea–that must have been over 20 years ago!? Wonder if it could be found on Netflix. Anyway, I tried to read the first Anne book about 5ish years ago and admit that I had a tough time getting through it. Same thing happened with Little Women. I’ll always love the shows, though, and can’t wait to share them with my little girls.
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I checked before this post – Avonlea is not on Netflix. Boo.
I think some books are suited to when we are younger. I’m enjoying Anne, but actually rereading Little Women with the (almost) teen I tutor, and I’m finding it dull at the moment. I’m still in the beginning but I remember really enjoying it as a kid!
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Most people I know with that name, spell it “Ann”. I do prefer “Anne” , “Ann” looks like there is a missing letter 😉
Never read the book, yet.
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